1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cradling apparatus for a portable communication device which enables the portable device to slide open and cradled.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, portable communication devices enable wireless communication while the devices are being carried. The portable communication type devices include a hand-held phone (HHP), a cordless telephone (CT)-2 cellular phone, a digital phone, a personal communications systems (PCS) phone, and a personal digital assistant (PDA) and are classified into various types, i.e., bar type, a flip type, a folder type, and a sliding type, according to their appearances.
However, in the conventional portable communication devices, a separately detached cradling apparatus is used for viewing information displayed on a display device, which may be uneconomical for a user. Typically, when the information displayed on the display device faces the user with an inclination, the user can conveniently view the displayed information. As such, when a separate cradling apparatus is not provided, a user can incline a main body with the hand for viewing. However, the user inevitably experiences discomfort in viewing the screen displayed on the display device because of absence of the separate cradling apparatus on the desk or the like.
To solve the foregoing problems, Korean Patent Registration No. 0713411 proposes a portable communication device cradle. As shown in FIGS. 1 through 3, the known portable communication device 10 includes a first housing 20, a second housing 30, a guide means 40, and a link portion 50. The first housing 20 extends along a longitudinal direction to face the second housing 30. The second housing 30 is provided on a top surface of the first housing 20, so that it can slide in perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and rotate to stand at a predetermined angle. The guide means 40 is provided at both end portions of the first housing 20 to guide sliding of the second housing 30. The link portion 50 is provided between the first housing 20 and the third housing 30 to rotate the second housing 30 to stand at a predetermined angle.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the guide means 40 includes a pair of guide members 41 and a pair of guide holes 42. The guide members 41 are formed at both end portions of the second housing 30 to slidably move in the guide holes 42. The guide holes 42 are provided in perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the first housing 20 to be coupled with the guide members 41, such that the guide members 41 can slide and rotate around a rotation axis A1.
The guide members 41 are in a cylindrical shape, and the guide holes 42 are in the form of guide rails. However, since the conventional portable communication device which can be cradled has no component for pressurizing the guide members, the guide members are easily separated from the guide holes when a product is dropped.
Moreover, the cylindrical guide members are coupled to the guide holes through line contact rather than surface contact. As a result, coupling between the guide members and the guide holes is degraded, thus the guide members can be separated from the guide holes or damaged from an accidental drop.
To solve the aforementioned problems, a portable communication device has been developed in which a housing is cradled using a lever having no guide hole and an auxiliary lever.
As shown in FIGS. 4 through 6, a portable communication device 1 includes a first housing 2, a second housing 3, and a lever 4 and an auxiliary lever 5 provided on both sides of the first housing 2 and the second housing 3. The lever 4 and the auxiliary lever 5 rotate in a coordinated way during sliding of the second housing 3, and a space A1 is formed as the first housing 2 and the second housing 3 moves away from each other. In this state, the second housing 3 is cradled.
However, as shown in FIG. 5, in the portable communication device using the lever and the auxiliary lever, the space A1 has to be separated formed between the first housing 2 and the second housing 3 by the auxiliary lever during sliding and cradling of the second housing 3.
Therefore, in the former known art, to improve sliding and cradling of the portable communication device, there is a need for preventing the guide members from being separated from the guide holes in case the portable communication device is accidently dropped or for sliding and inclinedly cradling the portable communication device through surface contact rather than line contact.
In the latter known art, there is a need for a device for reducing sliding and cradling operations of a product by preventing the space from being formed between the first housing and the second housing during sliding and cradling of the portable communication device.